Wrist Shot

Guy Boucher, coach of the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning, fired a strike during the ceremonial first pitch before the Rays-Blue Jays game on Friday night. But he didn't need a wind-up, only a wrist shot. Boucher opted to stand atop the pitching mound with the baseball perched on the rubber. Boucher took aim at catcher Stephen Vogt, who played the part of goaltender with a hockey stick and catcher's mitt, and fired a wrist shot over home plate (as you can see in the video below)

What does a revenge-seeking gunslinger from Missouri possibly have in common with a pure NHL goal-scorer born and bred in Ontario, Canada? A lot, apparently. The continuing education of Jeff Carter, whose 17 goals are tied for third in the NHL, knows no bounds. The Kings' forward received another unusual tutorial from his boss, General Manager Dean Lombardi, after the lockout ended in January. Lombardi's meetings with his players are legendary in terms of length and scope. With Carter, he served up the fictional gunslinger Josey Wales as an inspirational teaching moment.

Jason Pominville scored in a shootout, and Ryan Miller made 25 saves to help the Buffalo Sabres beat Calgary, 2-1, on Friday night, ending the Flames' winning streak at four games. Pominville beat Miikka Kiprusoff with a wrist shot that went between the goalie's legs. Miller then stopped Rene Bourque's attempt. Derek Roy scored in regulation for the Sabres (11-4-1), who won for the seventh time in 10 home games this season. Daymond Langkow scored for Calgary (11-4-2), and Kiprusoff made 32 saves.

This time, the Kings did not have to worry about a third-period collapse against Colorado. They seized control with a goal in the first minute by captain Dustin Brown and built on that foundation with goals from Jeff Carter, Trevor Lewis and Anze Kopitar. Then they proceeded to smother the Avalanche in the third period on their way to a 4-1 victory Saturday afternoon. Brown's goal came just 58 seconds into the game, a sharp one-timer, and then Carter's wrist shot from the high slot made it 2-0 at 14:22.

Ulf Dahlen didn't wait long to help his new teammates. Playing in his first game since Chicago acquired him from San Jose over the weekend for goalie Ed Belfour, Dahlen scored the winning goal at 3:32 of the third period to lead the Blackhawks to a 2-1 victory over the Rangers on Monday night in New York. "If I missed that shot, it would have been embarrassing," Dahlen said of his game-winner. "Tony made the play. I just put it into an empty net."

The Kings are one victory from paradise, even if that might be in New Jersey. A 2-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center on Thursday night gave the Kings a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals, one victory shy of facing the New York Rangers or New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup finals. Even if the Kings can't close out the series Sunday, a second trip to the finals in franchise history seems inevitable. Only three teams have come back from being down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup playoffs_the Toronto Maple Leafs (1942)

NASHVILLE — David Legwand scored the shootout winner in the Nashville Predators' 4-3 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday night. Steve Sullivan, Patric Hornqvist and Dan Hamhuis scored for Nashville in regulation, and Lee Stempniak, Wojtek Wolski and Keith Yandle countered for Phoenix. Nashville has won seven of its last eight. After winning nine consecutive games, the Coyotes have lost their last two. After each team scored once and missed once in the shootout, Phoenix's third shooter, Radim Vrbata, had Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne beaten, but the backhander rang off of the crossbar and bounced away.

The Florida Panthers scored three goals on five first-period shots against goalie Jim Carey, ending the Washington Capitals' four-game winning streak, 3-2, at Washington. Rob Niedermayer and Robert Svehla each had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who took a franchise record-low 11 shots but won behind a defense that killed all six Washington power plays. Florida, in only its third year of existence, leads the Eastern Conference with 18 points.

This time, the Kings did not have to worry about a third-period collapse against Colorado. They seized control with a goal in the first minute by captain Dustin Brown and built on that foundation with goals from Jeff Carter, Trevor Lewis and Anze Kopitar. Then they proceeded to smother the Avalanche in the third period on their way to a 4-1 victory Saturday afternoon. Brown's goal came just 58 seconds into the game, a sharp one-timer, and then Carter's wrist shot from the high slot made it 2-0 at 14:22.

Had goaltender Roberto Luongo played as poorly in the Olympic finale between Canada and the U.S. as he played Thursday against the Kings, Dustin Brown and Jack Johnson would have won gold medals instead of silver. They had to be content with excellent efforts against Luongo's Vancouver Canucks, as Brown recorded his second career hat trick and set up another goal and Johnson contributed two key assists in the Kings' 8-3 romp. "They're definitely going to be in the playoffs and a possible opponent for us and they kind of had our number," Brown said after the Kings cut their magic number for clinching a playoff spot to four while ending a five-game winless streak against Vancouver.

CALGARY, Canada -- The Kings turned their season around and launched themselves on the path to the Stanley Cup when they acquired forward Jeff Carter from Columbus last Feb. 23. This season, he's almost singlehandedly sustaining their hopes of making the playoffs and giving them a chance to defend their title. Trevor Lewis scored the Kings' go-ahead goal against the Flames on Wednesday on the rebound of a shot by Carter, and Carter provided an insurance goal with a shot from the high slot off a pass by Mike Richards at 9:27 of the third period, key elements of the Kings' 3-1 victory over the Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

GLENDALE, Ariz. - The Kings got their first win of the season, each member of their top line got his first point of the season, and rookie defenseman Jake Muzzin played clutch minutes while scoring his first NHL goal. Notably missing from that list is the Kings' first power-play goal of the season. They're still waiting for that, but they checked off a healthy number of significant "firsts" Saturday in earning a 4-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes in the teams' first meeting since the Kings prevailed in the Western Conference finals last spring.

Guy Boucher, coach of the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning, fired a strike during the ceremonial first pitch before the Rays-Blue Jays game on Friday night. But he didn't need a wind-up, only a wrist shot. Boucher opted to stand atop the pitching mound with the baseball perched on the rubber. Boucher took aim at catcher Stephen Vogt, who played the part of goaltender with a hockey stick and catcher's mitt, and fired a wrist shot over home plate (as you can see in the video below)

THIRD PERIOD The New Jersey Devils win the final faceoff and kill the last 8.8 seconds of the game for a 2-1 victory. Game 6 will be on Monday night at Staples Center. The Kings lead the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final series, three games to two. --- The Devils weather the extra skater and there will be a faceoff with 8.8 seconds left. --- Goaltender Jonathan Quick leaves the net with 1:07 left and the Kings trailing, 2-1. --- The Kings killed the Dustin Brown penalty, though it required a slick glove save by goaltender Jonathan Quick on a wrist shot by Devils winger Ilya Kovalchuk.

THIRD PERIOD There will be a Game 5 in the 2012 Stanley Cup Final after the Devils scored an empty-net goal. New Jersey winger Ilya Kovalchuk gathered the puck at the L.A. blue line and flipped in a shot with 19 seconds left to give the Devils a 3-1 lead. The teams will meet at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., for Game 5. ---- It just got worse for the Kings. Defenseman Willie Miitchell is sent off for high sticking with 2 minutes 50 seconds left. The Devils, though, are 0 for 2 on power plays in Game 4, with Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick stopping four shots.

The Kings are one victory from paradise, even if that might be in New Jersey. A 2-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center on Thursday night gave the Kings a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals, one victory shy of facing the New York Rangers or New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup finals. Even if the Kings can't close out the series Sunday, a second trip to the finals in franchise history seems inevitable. Only three teams have come back from being down 3-0 in the Stanley Cup playoffs_the Toronto Maple Leafs (1942)

What does a revenge-seeking gunslinger from Missouri possibly have in common with a pure NHL goal-scorer born and bred in Ontario, Canada? A lot, apparently. The continuing education of Jeff Carter, whose 17 goals are tied for third in the NHL, knows no bounds. The Kings' forward received another unusual tutorial from his boss, General Manager Dean Lombardi, after the lockout ended in January. Lombardi's meetings with his players are legendary in terms of length and scope. With Carter, he served up the fictional gunslinger Josey Wales as an inspirational teaching moment.

Ryan Smith's 25-foot slap shot from the left circle found its way through Andy Moog's pads and into the net 12 seconds into the second overtime Friday night and the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Stars, 1-0, at Dallas to take a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference series. Oiler goaltender Curtis Joseph stopped 43 shots for his second shutout of the series; Moog had 28 saves.